Sr. Manager, External Innovation, Operation

About AbbVie

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Purpose:

The Sr. Manager, External Innovation, Operation is responsible for enabling the efficient, scalable, and high-quality operation of AbbVie’s External Innovation activities in China. This role partners closely with teams & functions including Strategy, Alliances, Search & Evaluation, Transaction, Business Development & Acquisitions, R&D, Legal, and other internal and external stakeholders to ensure robust processes, execution, governance, information flow, and institutional memory across the full lifecycle of external innovation opportunities. The role supports AbbVie’s vision to better serve the unmet medical needs for global patients by leveraging the innovation ecosystem in China, including advancing strategically aligned external and internal assets across Immunology, Oncology, Neurosciences, Obesity, and Eye Care, by strengthening operational rigor, transparency, and execution excellence across opportunity intake, assessment, diligence, and post-decision tracking.

Responsibilities:

 The Sr. Manager, External Innovation, Operation will

• Design, implement, and continuously improve end-to-end operational processes supporting both internal and external innovation activities.

• Ensure consistent application of AbbVie and External Innovation standards, templates, timelines, and governance requirements to maximize output from ongoing efforts.

• Track and communicate the status of active processes, including (1) reporting of key development on a regular and timely basis to internal stakeholders (2) project management of complex due diligence and signed partnerships in close collaboration with alliances and other functions, and (3) timely capturing of interactions, events, correspondence and information materials in AbbVie’s information management systems.

• Support to affiliate-level or global initiatives that foster the dialogue with potential partners from China, such as AbbVie-branded partnering days, local and regional partnering events.

• Process key administrative tasks for the CEI team to help sharpen team focus and maximize team efficiency.

• Facilitate creation of institutional memory for opportunities by providing clear, concise assessments and recommendations for future reference. Fully leverage new and existing external and internal opportunity management tools to support the operations of the growing External Innovation group as it relates to tracking incoming opportunities.

Key Stakeholders:

Internal: China External Innovation Team, S&E Global Team, Global BD&A team, Global Alliances, Transactions Legal, R&D, China Affiliate organization, AbbVie Ventures, Executive Management.

External: CEOs, CBOs, Chief-of-Staff, Heads of Operation, Heads of R&D of existing and potential future partner organizations.

Requirements:

• 5-7 years of drug development or Business Development work experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries required / 4+ with masters / 2+ with Ph.D.

• Proven track record of signed deals with fair scales to ensure solid understanding of operations of the partnering business

• Strong Project management/ leadership skills to lead/manage multifunctional teams to evaluate target opportunities, and produce high quality analyses. Ability to drive projects to deliver timely results and follow through on commitments.

• Master or Ph.D. degree in related scientific field.  Overseas education background is a plus.

• Demonstrated ability to thrive in a 0 to 1 environment. Capable of quickly building up network and collaborating with key stakeholders / potential partners internal and externally.

• Highly motivated with strong organizational and communication skills, excellent work ethic, and the ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team environment.

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community.  Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled. 

US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html

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